Category: Nail Adventures

More info on my radio silence to come Friday, but first: can we talk about my nails?

I feel like it’s been a million years since I’ve really had time to paint them up all pretty. Since I had some time on my last day of mini-vacation, I figured I’d treat myself to a nice manicure.

And…it’s in a neutral color. A pink neutral color!

I know, right? Who AM I!

😀

Now, of course there had to be some sparkle, because…well, this is me we’re talking about here. But it’s suprisingly subtle.

And I absolutely ADORE it.

Such a fresh, spring manicure!

The pink (pictured) is Julep’s Abby, and the silver is Essie’s Apres-Chic. I used some chevron stickers to help make the design and topped it all off with some tiny pearls. I love this manicure. It’s fancy without being too much and it hides nicks well (because working freight is hard on a manicure, honey.)

Like this:

As a matter of fact, I’m typing this in a tank and leggings. Like, it’s warm outside.

I am not complaining.

I do like the snow, and do miss it just a little bit. It’s really pretty when it first falls.

It’s even prettier when I don’t have to walk in it. 😉

Anyway, I figured, in homage to the upcoming non-white Christmas, I’d do my own sparkly version on my nails. Glitter and sequins and rhinestones, oh, my!

This manicure took me a little longer than usual (about two hours vs my usual 45 minutes), but I am so excited about it, y’all! I’m like a magpie; I am attracted to all things glittery and sparkly. As I type this, I am having a hard time keeping my eyes on the screen and not my hands because each finger catches the light at my desk.

The rundown: the blue is Essie’s Butler Please, the ring fingers are two colors layered: silver is Essie’s Apres-Chic (pictured) with OPI’s In True Stefani Fashion on top. The glitter is by Essence, and I applied each piece one at a time with an orange stick. This would be the longest part, but it was so worth it because I like my chunky glitter to be even. Pointer finger has a rhinestone at the center of the snowflakes, which I used a Sally Hansen nail art pen for. They didn’t come out as perfect as I hoped, but the imperfection is perfect for me.

Like this:

Ok, so I was perusing YouTube and came across the cutest nail art tutorial:

Adorable, right? I love the art, but since we’re still in the heat of summer, I wanted to do something like that but with a different color scheme.

I just had to bring in my favorite shade of blue to make my little penguin nail. Pro tip: if you’re going to do this manicure and you’re going to do the white polish over the color, make sure it’s opaque (you can tell that the polish I used really wasn’t.) If you feel like you need to do at least two coats of your white, do this method. Paint your nails with two coats of white, then use a detailing brush to paint a stripe of color around the perimeter of the nail. Next time, I’ll likely use this method to cut down on the potential marbling that could happen.

This is easy enough that you can duplicate this even with a non dominant hand (all you need is a dotting tool and some patience). I didn’t want it on every nail, so my pointer finger has its signature glitter on top (OPI’s In True Stefani Fashion.) My blue is Essie’s Butler Please, white is Essie’s Private Weekend (it’s got shimmer in it, but it’s very light.)

What’s on your nails this week? Drop some pics in the comments or tweet me @Fashion_Amateur. Can’t wait to see your manicures!

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So, I have been such a social butterfly these last couple of weeks. I’ve actually been venturing out on my days off and meeting people and brunching and so on.

Who AM I?

😀

Not for nothing, it’s been quite enjoyable. As an introvert who is quite socially awkward, some of the situations I put myself in have pushed me to come out of my shell a bit. I’ve noticed the more I do it, the easier it gets. I find that getting out is enjoyable, but I allow myself to duck out when being around too many people overwhelms me.

Sidebar: um, y’all? If you have introverted friends, do not tell them this is how they “fix it”. They aren’t broken. Just, FYI.

Anyway.

So, I went to brunch with my dissertation writing friend this past weekend, and I decided to do my nails in pink. Pink isn’t usually a focus color (I like it as an accent) but since I was wearing an all blue outfit I thought it would lend a nice contrast.

This might be the most frou frou manicure I’ve ever done. It may also be one of my favorites! Alright, the nail polish strips are called Giving Lip, and the pink is Essie’s Madison Ave-hue. The glitter overlay is Julep’s Hartleigh.

Definitely not something that I’d do when it isn’t say, Valentine’s Day or something (that’s the first time I wore this strip design), but I love it so. Pink, sparkly happy!

Dedicated to my little niece, who made her debut this past weekend. I’d done this mani before she got here, but how appropos is this pink? 🙂

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I feel like it’s been forever since I had the time to do a Nail Adventure! My nails have been pretty wretched lately, actually. Part of it was me doing some cleaning at work and dropping a sign.

Instead of letting the sign fall on the floor, I caught it.

Which broke three nails to the meat. It wasn’t pretty. I had to bandage up for a couple of days.

Now, they’re starting to grow back nicely, but for safety’s sake I’ve been keeping them short, and to let them breathe, I’ve kept them largely unpolished.

Yesterday, since I decided to do my usual writing outside instead of in my house, I decided to do a quick manicure. It’s in a pale shade (!!!!) because it gives the illusion of longer nails and it hides nicks pretty well (this would be why you see so many celebs with pale, neutral nails). So, what did I do?

So, the pale coral is OPI’s Chillin Like A Villain and the glitter is Julep’s Paris.

You knew there had to be glitter somewhere, right? Because this is me we’re talking about. 🙂

I’d had the OPI color in my box for a while and never used it because pale and neutral, which we all know I tend to be allergic to. But I got a tan while I was out doing the AIDS walk last week (it went awesome and I was OMG TIRED but I did it!), and I noticed how lovely the color looked against my skin. So I went for it.

And yes, I can admit I like it. The simple sparkle (which is over bare nails) just gives it enough oomph for me to not feel like it’s boring. Very classic glam.

I would caution that this color is also pretty sheer. Had I more time I would have done a third coat to get it as opaque as I prefer (that’s two coats above.

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Y’all, vacation is so close I can almost taste the fresh seafood that awaits me in Myrtle Beach!

This also means that it will feel like time is ticking backwards because I’m so ready for it to be here, but I digress.

The week before vacation is always a rough one: trying to get the house cleaned up, get things washed and folded, get new luggage if you need it (mine has a hole the size of a football field in it) on top of making time for a wax and a pedicure. Added is making sure work things are squared away so I can actually ENJOY vacation without having to worry about (or do!) any work.

Whew.

I had to keep the nails simple for this week, because I’m up to my elbows in spring cleaning (cleaning out the closet, OMG!) but I still wanted some pretty colors.

So, what did I come up with?

So, this yellow glitter polish. This was…underwhelming. *sigh*

I didn’t realize it was so matte, and even with a shiny top coat still remained pretty flat. It does have a bit of a metallic sheen to it though. This is OPI’s Pineapples Have Peelings Too. The pink is Orly’s Hawaiian Punch, and what would a Char manicure be without a rhinestone?

You know I’ve already knocked that off. Oh, well. 🙂

And now, I’m in the home stretch of my workweek. I can make it, I can!

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Spring is finally upon us! I’m looking forward to longer days, beautiful weather, and wearing all of the loud, happy colors.

What were we greeted with in NYC?

Snow. Because of course we were.

Sigh.

Well. I refuse to pay this abysmal weather any mind, and instead focus on the fact that vacation is almost here! In celebration of upcoming warm weather and blue skies, I decided to replicate that on my nails. Originally I’d planned on doing something soft, with pretty pastels and pearls, but with this gloomy cold hanging around, I wanted something that reminded me of a bright, sunny day.

Y’all know what that means: bright colors and sparkles ahead!

The lemony yellow is Julep’s Dawn and the Carolina blue is Orly’s Frenzy. I added some different sized rhinestones and pearls to give some sparkle, and done! Every time I look down at my hands while I work I get an instant happy. It’s ok, weather. You don’t have to be great. My nails will pick up the slack until you’re ready to comply. 🙂